Skepticism flourished among Democrats and environmentalists Tuesday regarding a deal negotiated by Gov. Mark Parkinson to allow construction of a coal plant in Kansas in exchange for adoption of renewable energy legislation.
Parkinson met at the Statehouse with House Democrats shaken by the settlement with Sunflower Electric Power Corp. on one of the most divisive issues in state politics. If the Legislature balks, the deal will fall apart.
“There will still be people who say this is a bad settlement,” Parkinson said.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said the arrangement Parkinson revealed Monday would compel the Republican-led Legislature to lift a blockade on renewable energy reform. The price to be paid by coal critics is state approval for an 895-megawatt coal plant at Holcomb.
Still, Hensley said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could stand in the way.
“In terms of any future coal plants, much is contingent on future air standards,” Hensley said.
The Sunflower-Parkinson pact requires the utility company to build a wind farm and support pollution-mitigation projects. Sunflower agreed to dismantle two power plants in Garden City producing 12 megawatts of power. Neither has been used in about 20 years.
To close the deal, the Legislature must pass a bill with net metering for small power producers, renewable portfolio standards for large producers, and mandatory efficiency rules for state buildings and vehicles. The bill would prevent the Kansas Department of Health and Environment from imposing regulations on air quality no tougher than contained in federal law.
There is bipartisan consensus the required energy bill will clear the Legislature.
In 2007, KDHE rejected Sunflower’s request for a permit to move ahead with construction of two coal burning units costing $3.5 billion and offering total capacity of 1,400 megawatts. KDHE Secretary Rod Bremby pointed to health hazards from carbon emissions.
“I still have some concerns about the ability of KDHE to effectively regulate coal plants in Kansas,” said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence.
Davis said another troubling piece of the agreement is it granted Sunflower the right to seek a second state permit for construction of another coal unit at Holcomb in 2011. Parkinson isn’t running for governor in 2010, which means the next governor could grant Sunflower authority to expand more.
Parkinson told House Democrats he appreciated that legislators “bled” on the issue by casting votes against coal that angered constituents in home districts.
The governor unveiled the agreement before the House could test whether a two-thirds majority existed to override the latest veto of a pro-Holcomb bill by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In 2008, House Democrats and moderate Republicans prevented overrides of three coal bills. The same result was expected before close of the 2009 session.
“From a policy point of view, it’s grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory,” said Scott Allegrucci, director of the Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy.
Allegrucci disputed Parkinson’s claim that advanced technology at the new plant and a series of carbon mitigation programs could produce a negative environmental footprint.
“That’s impossible,” Allegrucci said. “This is a net carbon emissions gain.”
On Monday, Parkinson said, “It is entirely possible that the carbon impact of this plant is zero or perhaps even less than zero.” Sierra Club lobbyist Tom Thompson said his group appreciated the effort to limit emissions.
“We’re just disappointed that the state’s still going to be building a coal-fired power plant,” he said.
Meanwhile, Siemens Energy announced plans to build a wind turbine component factory in Hutchinson. The facility will employ 400 people and manufacture the nacelle, or head, of turbines.
Parkinson said the project indicated Kansas was turning a corner on developing wind power.
“We are in a race with other states in the Midwest as it relates to renewable energy,” he said. “We’re in the race for wind farms, for transmission lines and for those factories that supply the parts to wind farms. We have been losing that race.”
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